The different types of items are confusing me...
Do different types of swords do more damage? Like is a silver sword better than an iron sword? I looked on the wiki but it didn't really have anything about damage.
http://dwarffortresswiki.org/index.php/DF2012:WeaponThis portion of the wiki goes over the weapon types, what the attacks are, what superior crafting results in, what effect the material has on that, and what material of weapons are best against what material of armor for certain types of attack. There is a similar section on armor. The pages are for Fortress mode, but the stats are the same.
Different sort of attacks can be used for different things. For example, if you find your sword slashes are being deflected by armor, you may wish to use a stab. However, if you want to experience the joy of cutting someone in half at the upper or lower body, a slash will do much better, and a slash from an axe is the best. I generally choose swordsman, as they have two edge and two blunt attacks that can be used for different situations, so I can be prepared for any situation. However, if you make it far enough, you might switch to an axe for slashing, a spear for stabbing, and a hammer for bashing.
